The cost-saving benefits of remote sports production via multiple IP live video transport streams are becoming standard at major sports event venues, and more widely available at other field locations.
How do you save money producing big sports events? You don’t send a fleet of trucks to cover it, but rather you do it remotely via IP and fat pipes. Trending rapidly upward in the live broadcast sports production industry, is producing and switching at studio headquarters as if it were at the event.
As evidence that Moore’s law is far from its demise, remote individual camera connections from many-camera HD professional TV events is becoming less expensive with minimal delay, higher quality and increased reliability over legacy baseband fiber or satellite. All that is needed at the venue are the usual cameras, associated camera and audio gear, talent and talented camera operators. A method to connect the camera signals and CCU controls to a stable WAN for interface with the studio allows the OB production truck and crew to stay at its home facility.
The cost of high availability IP bandwidth and dedicated wavelength services has plummeted over the past five years. According to Media Links sales VP for the Americas Dave Herfert; “A 100 GB link from New York to Washington D.C. can be leased today for about $5000 USD per month. However, the last mile is always the problem.”
